4 Powerful Bible Verses for Stress and Anxiety
The awakening of spring feels like a rebirth of sorts. The pungent scent wafting from the once-frozen creek bed stirs life in my soul. I’ve been searching for Bible verses for stress in my life. Today I take my Bible to the woods and give my soul space to breathe.
Spring’s awakening stirs a greater longing within me – a longing for heaven. It’s a longing for the day when all things are made new – a longing for the face-to-face embrace with the One who created me.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe writes: “A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”
Pondering beauty brings me relief when life is stressful.
I memorized Robert Frost’s poems about golden forests when college stress wore me down.
I took walks outside on bitter December afternoons when my teaching career wore on me.
Mom pulled the old green reclining chair from the porch so I could watch the wrens flutter from their box when I was pregnant and ill.
Biblical Insight on Stress Relief
In this season, I can think of lists of reasons to join Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in seeking what is beautiful. Scripture reminds us to fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable (see Philippians 4:8 NLT).
How do we live this out in a practical way?
Most of us have heard of keeping gratitude lists. A few months ago, it occurred to me to begin a “Chasing Beauty List.”
Instead of listing reasons to give thanks, I began the simple practice of noticing the small miracles all around me in my everyday life. I took photos on my phone instead of writing a list.
There were photos of fence posts deep in winter’s snowdrifts, thistle catching the glint of spring sunset, Holsteins grazing on the green, children chasing rainbowed bubbles, and more.
If the rigors of everyday life are wearing on you, try creating your own “Chasing Beauty List.” Simply hold yourself accountable to find three beautiful moments to capture in a photo each day.
Take a walk and find your three moments in your neighborhood, and you’ll release endorphins while you walk. Take your kids to the park or the backyard, or simply capture three quiet moments of beauty as potato soup bubbles on the stovetop. 
Let’s look at four Bible verses for stress and anxiety to show us what God thinks about chasing beauty:
Bible Verses for Stress and Words to Help You Focus on God:
1. Praise the name of the LORD. Give praise, O servants of the LORD who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God (Psalm 135:1-2 BSB).
Magnify what is good and right in your life, and you magnify God. You cannot magnify stress and magnify God at the same time.
In every moment, I have a choice. I can magnify my problems, or I can magnify God.
Every day I face a choice: I can magnify all the reasons I’m disappointed with my life, or I can magnify the many blessings. Take time to search for what is beautiful. In doing so, you are magnifying beauty. You are redirecting your gaze to the Author of all beauty.
Every day I face a choice: I can magnify all the reasons I’m disappointed with my life, or I can magnify the many blessings. #magnifyGod #blessings Click To Tweet2. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17).
I know you don’t really want to hear that your current stress is light and momentary. It doesn’t feel light and momentary.
Friend, let’s pause for perspective.
Maybe the glitch on my computer changed my plans for the day, but it’s not as big of a deal as it seems.
The yelling kids are unnerving and frustrating, but this is part of learning to cooperate and relate with others.
In the grand scheme of my life, many of my troubles are light and momentary. Even the heavy burdens will be used for God’s glory. Chasing what is good in my life re-frames my perspective about what is difficult.
Two More Bible Verses for Stress and Struggles:
3. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT).
Snow-capped peaks and waves crashing to sandy shores elicit responses of awe because we were created to crave beauty. We all long for the beauty of encountering God face-to-face. Until then, our hearts are set on fire with passion for him when we see the beautiful works of his hands.
Encountering beauty through nature, the arts, architecture, and other people reinvents the awe we were designed to crave. Make time to chase this beauty, and you are stirring the part of you that was created for eternity with Jesus.
4. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT).
Gratitude lifts our eyes above ourselves. Thankfulness displaces negativity. Even the smallest flame dispels a room of darkness. We’re called to give thanks in everything. The more we count our blessings, the less we keep track of wrongs. Gratefulness and grumpiness simply can’t dwell in the same space.
Even the smallest flame dispels a room of darkness. #Godslight #overcomingdarkness #victoryinJesus #encounteringGod Click To TweetWherever life finds you today, may you embrace the joy of the journey, find something for which you can give thanks, and keep looking up. The geese are northern-bound.
A Free Devotional Book With More Bible Verses for Stress (and an Invitation to Encounter God):
I hope these Bible verses for stress and anxiety were helpful to you. Does the idea of slipping away to a beautiful place to recharge and refresh sound inviting? Space for Your Soul to Stretch is your personal invitation to create space to rest in God’s presence. You need only 12 minutes per day for this 8-day journey. Each day invites you to encounter God’s created world and spend time in his written Word. You will walk away from this journey replenished and refreshed each day. It is my free gift to you by clicking here.
Calling All Mothers and Daughters!
Lastly, in addition to writing to adults, I am also passionate about ministering to the next generation.
My 12-year-old daughter Bekah and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book together, and it is designed to help moms and daughters connect and grow in faith together. It’s called Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a journaling section. We had a blast writing it, and we are so excited to share it with you. Our vision is for girls ages 7-17 to enjoy it with their moms, grandmas, or older women they look up to.
You can buy your paperback or eBook on Amazon right here. This book also makes a powerful gift for the mothers and daughters you care about! We encourage you to check it out!
